It's been nearly three decades since the last time Adrian College won an outright Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football title, but last Saturday's 20-19 overtime win at Albion secured a long-awaited MIAA title and NCAA Division III playoff berth.

The championship chemistry was simple. The offense stayed on the field as long as possible, knowing that a rested Adrian defense could stop anyone. Ironically, that's what it all came down to at Albion, as the Britons attempted a two-point conversion for the win and were stuffed by the Bulldog defense.

"This is just fantastic," said Adrian coach Jim Deere of the MIAA title. "It's great for everyone -- from the college to the community."

After losing their season opener, the Bulldogs have won eight straight games as they prepare for the playoffs by heading south this week to face nationally-ranked Huntingdon College (Ala.).

"Playing Huntingdon will be a good road challenge for us and an opportunity for us to build momentum for the playoffs," said Deere.

Deere attributes their season-opening, three-point loss to Carthage in September as a silver lining in a season to remember.

"We had a lot of new faces in that first game, but give the players credit," Deere said. "The team grew from that loss. They learned fast just what kind of commitment and preparation was needed, and by the second week, they stepped it up and went from rookies to veterans."

Linebacker Hunter Juntunen echoed similar sentiments about the loss.

"That was the turning point in our season," he said. "It was a reality check, because we felt we were superior to the team we lost to. I feel that after that, we turned things around."

Defensively, the team has been stout, ranking No.1 in all prominent defensive MIAA statistics. The Bulldogs allowed the fewest points (10.7) and yards (212.9) per game. The team only allowed 40 points against conference opponents, best in the league ahead of Albion's 79.

The defense has been led by a pair of junior linebackers, Juntunen and Deontae Bridgeman, who have collectively accounted for 113 tackles.

"It's an amazing feeling to win the (MIAA) championship," Juntunen said. "We just want to continue that now and go get another championship. … Preparation got us Ws throughout the year, and our defense has done a great job and has improved every week."

Offensively, while the numbers aren't quite as impressive as the defense, the Bulldogs have two things in their favor — time of possession and senior receiver Justin Hemm.

The Bulldogs possess the ball longer than any other MIAA team, averaging 34:38 per game.

"We love to control the game," said Hemm, the first 1,000-yard receiver in program history. "…We know our defense is going to shut teams down, and what we want to do as an offense is keep our defense off the field. The defense has been unreal."

Page 2 of 2 - Hemm, a two-time All-MIAA performer, earned four of the league's 10 Offensive Player of the Week awards this season. Although his 60 receptions were one short of the league lead, Hemm led the MIAA in receiving yards (1,006) and receiving touchdowns (10) by a comfortable margin in both categories.

A humble Hemm attributed much of his success to the backfield.

"A lot of my big plays have been through the running game," he said. "If it wasn't for the running game and for them setting things up, I wouldn't be able to do the play action over the top."

The Bulldogs have appeared twice in postseason play, losing to Augustana College (Ill.) both times. In 1983, Adrian lost by a point, 22-21, and in 1988, the Bulldogs lost 25-7.

Only three things are certain about the Bulldogs' upcoming NCAA playoff game. It will be on the road. It will be on Nov. 17. And it will be a difficult journey, as the playoffs have not been kind to MIAA champions.

Only one MIAA team (Trine) has won an NCAA playoff game since Albion was crowned national champion in 1994.